Trend Alert: Blue is getting Brighter and Happier

At one of the CMG Conferences a speaker once said 'If you want to know which direction colour is going, check out the towel department.'

So a couple weeks ago I snapped this photo of a stack of bright blue and yellow towels when I was out sourcing accessories for a client.

Towels don't collect dust sitting on shelves like other products do so it makes sense that there's more turnover in product, therefore new colours can appear faster. (That's my take, if you have a more accurate one, please post a comment below).

Isn't this blue entry breathtaking? The styling certainly helps but this photo is a great example of happy blues taking over from gray blues.

For years the only place I've ever chosen a blue like this was for a kids room. When I saw those blue and yellow towels, I had this sudden urge to run home and paint my main bathroom this exact colour.

Remember the post I wrote 'What everyone should know about blue'? The bottom line was that light blues need to be sufficiently grayed so that they don't look like baby blue on the walls. But if you take that same gray blue and go darker, you end up with a mans den or teenage boys room.

37 Responses to Trend Alert: Blue is getting Brighter and Happier

My next project is my hallway and guest bathroom and I want to paint them blue. I am thinking of more navy blue this brighter blue looks lovely too. Do you happen to know which shade are these blues in your post? Thanks!

The only place I'll put blue is in my bathroom. I have Whythe Blue there now and am loving it. Although it's actually more turquoise than real blue. I may be stuck in the past, but I'm an earthtone girl. Like warm colours instead of cool. Especially in January in Canada.

Hip hip hooray! I can't wait for these happy blues to become more mainstream! When we moved into our new/old house, I started working on incorporating these shades into our rooms, but it's next to impossible to find ready-made items in light and medium clear blues. Those gray-blues are so dingy-looking. I've had to resort to selectively ordering custom curtains and painting my own small area rugs (that's a whole other story!).

I've noticed too that towels are a good indicator of the latest "in" colors although I hadn't really thought about it. Can be great if you like those colors, not so great if you don't. Unfortunately, as beautiful as your blue room pics are, blue won't be in my home because it's simply not my color, though I have a couple of paintings I like mucho which feature a prominent aqua blue sky that haven't been hanging for the last 10 years because they don't work with my color palette or subject matter. I'm a green gal, but again the blue rooms are very pretty, and there is something absolutely heavenly about that pale blue in your bathroom with the while and the green plants, Maria. If I could work it in to my palette, I might well be tempted.

I love those colors together. That's what we have in our bedroom. Our garden shed is that bright blue with a bright hot pink door! I am thinking a bright yellow for the door next time though! Good choices!

I'm not a blue person myself, but have several older clients who still have darker, richer blues on their walls. The homes are big, "old money", and it works with that style: antiques and Oriental carpets. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I always look to fashion …it's always a year ahead. The problem lies in how to find the accessories in the right color before it's mainstream ie. no longer edgy. Unless you live in London it can be a struggle!

Veeeery interesting. Perhaps I should bring out that couch from the 90's we own, that's been hiding in the back bedroom. It's almost the same blue as the rooms featured, perhaps just a touch greyer. Everything old is new again. : – )

I am definitely a blue person – I love to wear it, I love to decorate with it! My designer wanted a stronger blue for my daughter's room, but she did not like it and we went with a soft blue. However, I have some strong happy blues in my butler's pantry and my family room!

I updated my blog roll, and corrected your feed to the right address!

I have a bit of blue on my blog today – a good complement to your post today!

I've noticed that suddenly one of the most popular pins is a periwinkle blue that I pinned a few months ago. It was something I liked but which seemed to me hopelessly outdated, perhaps too close to the 80's cornflower blue. Glad to see the brighter, happier blues making a comeback…although I can also see it being short-lived and being deemed corny or twee…

To begin, I have always had a love affair with blue.
The colour in the towels you are showing are reading on my monitor very similar to what I may have in my kitchen at present. (A custom colour.) Only problem is, I love it during the daytime but detest it at night when it has a purple undertone. Perhaps because it is paired with Navy? Would I want it in my living room the answer is no. Even though I love shades of purple as well, accessories would be far too difficult to co-ordinate (and I sew). Unfortunately, the public often does not have the same access to fabrics etc. as Interior (or even Fashion) Designers do. With all that said, I have to agree with the comment made by "Pam".
-Brenda-

I used to only like colors I can wear very well, in my case muted jewel tones like rust, blue-greens, moss, and "autumn" colors (not a terrible rule of thumb since your house does surround you, but a tad limiting). In the last couple years I am appreciating a few colors I can't wear… especially clear, bright cobalt blue! I don't think I can ever like this shade of cornflower, though. At least outside of a wildflower bouquet.

So where do the color trends begin? Why do you see the colors showing up in towels first? Who decides? When I find a color and combination I like, I tend to stay with it a loooong time, and then I can't find updates or replacements of towel and pillows and such in the colors I already have. Frustrating.

My finished basement was recently in BM Sweet Bluette in matte finish and I love it. A decorator told me that light blue can become unsophisticated… How so? Who makes these rules anyway? It's a dreamy sky blue, looks gorgeous in my recessed lighting as well as during the day. My basement was a medium/dark shade of beige (BM blond wood) previously, and is looks so much brighter, fresher and happier now. I am done with beiges. Also have chair rails and painted them and the walls below in BM Superwhite in semigloss. Love it and it reflects light beautifully. My only issue now is choosing the right carpet color. I have chosen something that looks close to a straw hat color, a sort of warm reddish beige. Any ideas folks?

I painted the bathroom at our former apartment this colour, or its cousin. It had almond cabinetry with a pink-beige fake marble top, a horrible yellowish linoleum floor, grayish tile with pink flowers, and white and chrome everything else. There was nothing I could do about the floor, the tile, or the vanity. At first I thought of painting it white, but soon realized that would only make the ugly bits stand out worse. We then did brilliant blue with bright white trim (orange undertone) and it looked much better. If I get to do a bath completely, I think I'd like white with either cobalt, turquoise, or aqua.

There was a time when you could not find blue anywhere. Now it is back with a vengeance. Here in California it probably makes sense because of the proximity to the ocean. I use to have clients who craved blue and try as I would, it was almost impossible to find anything. I am so happy that it has finally come around. The bright colors that are used with it gives it such a happy feel!! Good post Maria as usual!

As I recently painted our exterior doors as well as the 'sailboat cutout shutters' I made, in Behr's 'Starless Night', have a Dark Navy & med grey rug for the enclosed porch with white wicker chairs, generally love any shade if blue, I'm delighted to see your recent posts on indigo and happy blues making a comeback!
Maybe it's bc we're right by the Gulf here at the cottage, regardless of trend, over my husband's qualms, I painted on, I'm loving the dark navy and Ultra Pure White combo and now that it's up my husband is liking it as well., Phew, dodged a bullet there, joking – he usually has no comment but thought the navy was too dark…… happy he decided it looked good.
Undecided about some interior choices now so will be calling on you soon for some assistance!
Great posts, I enjoyed the 'is Navy the new black?' post as well and like the navy sectional very much. I am looking forward to seeing more of that summer home! Thanks for sharing your talent!